Is it ok that i wake my babies up when they are dreaming?!

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I have a year old Pit and a 7 year old Dashund. Whenever they dream I always catch myself waking them up. Especially if they are growling and running. I'm afraid its a nightmare and they are being chased or something so I wake them up. Lol. Is this ok? Or do I need to let them play out?

Leave your dogs alone. There are different sleep periods. REM is the period when they are dreaming. It is also when their eyes move back and forth. Don't ever interrupt a dog's sleep cycle. It isn't good for them. The only time I will wake one of my dogs is if they are whining loudly. Uma gets nightmares and gets very scared. It's better to leave a dog alone if they are growling in their sleep. Sometimes Dustin does this and I put a dab of peanut butter on his nose to wake him up. Lonnie sometimes barks in his sleep. I try not to wake them unless they are being so loud that I cannot sleep. I can tell when Uma is having a nightmare, as her whining sounds like someone is trying to kill her. She gets super stressed out during these periods. All I do is pet her on the head and rub her back and she wakes up enough to calm down.

Generally we tend to let it go but there are times when it is obvious that Kai is having a nightmare,during those times we do wake him but have found it best not to try to touch him until he is fully alert. As a young puppy,whatever he was dreaming about must have had him very frightened,when I reached down to wake him he snapped at me,something he would never do normally. So we have simply called to him to wake him and if he is upset enough by his dream he will come on the bed and cuddle with us until he is feeling more secure,then go back to the floor and back to sleep.

Best advice. How would you like it if you were rousted from awesome dreams? Just don't do it. It's really cruel to wake your dog in the middle of dreaming. They never get good quality rest if you do that, and dogs need 10-15 hours a day. Dreaming is the gateway to deeper levels of sleep as well as a precursor to waking and actiity. By waking a dog, you insure that it is running on deprivation all the time, and that leads to stress, compromised immune systems, weight gain, and decreased mental functioning.

Leave the dogs alone. There can also be a behavioral side effect -- some dogs get really startled when being abruptly awoken and could snap or do something else before they reach full conscious awareness.

Waking up a sleeping dog is a great way to get yourself bitten! It will not be on purpose, but as a normal response to fear. Let sleeping dogs lie. It's not just a saying! A dog will react the way it's owner reacts. For example, if you coo coo a dog that is scared of thunder, it will see this as a reward for the fearful behavior. It sounds crazy, but that is how dogs think! I doubt your dog is having any bad dreams. Your dog is probably just dreaming about running. Jocelyn, Johnathon and Margie all do this. Don't coddle. I never coddle my dogs. It's never good to wake a dog, person, or any other animal up during a dream. Jocelyn makes these awesome whooping noises when she dreams! What would be the purpose of waking your dog up? Just let her sleep. I'm pretty sure my dogs are just dreaming about running.